Thai Airbnb hosts served more than 1.2 million guest in 2017

Thai Airbnb hosts have served more than 1.2 million guest arrivals over the past 12 months and earned 4 billion baht.

Airbnb’s head of public policy for Southeast Asia, said the Thai host community earned a combined US$119 million (4 billion baht) in supplemental income from February 2017 to February 2018. Ms Goh said the 1.2 million guests represent 66% year-on-year growth in arrivals.

She attributed the growth to the increasing acceptance of the hospitality platform among Thais as an opportunity to earn extra income and welcome guests from around the world.

“There are over 61,400 listings in Thailand on Airbnb, and the median host income averages $2,100 or 67,000 baht annually,” Ms Goh said.

Bangkok and Phuket contributed more than half of host earnings and guest arrivals over the past 12 months. Airbnb hosts in Bangkok earned 1.1 billion baht by sharing their homes with 485,000 guests.

In Phuket, the strong vacation rental market helped generate close to 995 million baht for hosts, with the median host income reaching 108,000 baht annually. Ms Goh said there were more than 4 million…